Girl's Family Win Compensation Over Glue Injection

The family of a brain damaged girl will receive a substantial compensation settlement from the Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Maisha Najeeb was ten-years-old when her brain was accidentally injected with glue that left her with lifelong injuries. Her family will receive £2.8 million up front and then £383,000 per year until she is 19 - increasing to £423,000 after this.

London High Court was told that Maisha, who had a long-standing brain problem that left her at risk of aneurysms, was due to have dyes injected into her skull to see how the organ circulated blood.

This is a relatively low-risk procedure and the results were to be reproduced on a screen so doctors could tailor treatment programmes more carefully for the child.

But in a mix-up, two syringes were misplaced and a doctor accidentally injected glue directly into Maisha's brain.

This left her with permanent brain damage and the previously healthy ten-year-old can no longer walk and has developed a number of disabilities.

Maisha's father, Sadir, from Ilford, London, told of how damaging the ordeal has been for his family: "Her life is ruined. All her dreams have been broken. I hope that by bringing this case, lessons will have been learned to avoid this happening to other families."

Great Ormond Street Hospital has apologised and pledged to do all it can to make sure similar accidents never happen again.

Bosses from the facility admitted full liability for all of the injuries sustained by Maisha and have pledged to support her for the rest of her life.

Maisha's family lawyer said: "What is so heartbreaking about this case is that the injury was so avoidable. [The syringes should have] been marked up so the hospital could see which contained glue and which contained dye."

It is thought this settlement could be one of the biggest of all time, with some experts predicting Maisha could live into her sixties.

Expert Opinion

This is a horrific case which is all the more heartbreaking because it could so easily have been prevented.

“Instead, Maisha has been left with complex, lifelong brain injuries that leave her needing a lifetime of care and rehabilitation.

“Like many settlements we secure for our brain-injured clients, the funds will have been agreed to take into account Maisha’s accommodation needs, care, ongoing treatment, specialist equipment and therapies that she will need throughout her lifetime.

“We hope the Trust has now put a number of safeguarding measures in place to protect future patients’ safety and ensure the same horrendous error cannot happen again.”

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